Can we continue recyling aluminium for cans?

10 Jan Can we continue recyling aluminium for cans?

Recycling is one of the best ways to cut down on carbon emissions from industry. It reduces landfill, energy for producing new materials, and resource depletion. Aluminium recycling is a particularly great way to shrink our carbon footprint. For example, the 26-tonne ingots produced at the UK’s Novelis aluminium recycling plant, represent 1.69 million aluminium cans and a saving of 234 tonnes of carbon emissions.

Recycling the aluminium in cans to make new cans takes just 5 percent of the energy needed to produce primary aluminium for the same purpose.

But there are concerns that accumulation of impurities through the recycling process may render the resulting aluminium unusable over time.

Impure Aluminium

Every time a used can gets melted down into a puddle of silvery aluminium, unwanted hitchhikers join the mix. Impurities, either from the composition of the can itself, from the lacquered finish, from dust or dirt, or from the trash that people sometimes tuck inside, can weaken or degrade the recycled product.
With recycling rates where they are, impurities normally don’t affect the quality of the aluminium too much. But if recycling rates increase to 75%or more, impurities in recycled cans could increase exponentially by as much as 135% – that would raise big questions about the future of aluminium recycling.

How it Works

The reason this exponential accumulation of impurities occurs is that each time a can is recycled it takes on whatever new contamination is present along with those taken on in the previous cycle.

Worst Case Scenario

At Denron Metals, we recycle aluminium as sustainably as possible and we also offer cash in exchange for your scrap aluminium, whether it’s cans, bikes, aluminium casings from appliances and computers, or any other aluminium products.
If you have scrap metal in Adelaide and want a trusted recycler to take it off your hands, call us on (08) 8352 8772 or contact us online today.